The UK tourism industry is in pretty bad shape and suffering from a triple whammy according to the European Tour Operators Association, (ETOA).
The problems highlighted are:
· A visa regime which deters people visiting the UK
· Massive slump in overseas visitors is on the cards next year as a direct result of the Olympics being held in London, with the potential for long term damage
· Punitive tax regime which is causing long-term damage to the UK’s tourism industry
With the dynamic growth of the Chinese economy and its increasingly affluent society you would have thought the UK would be falling over backwards to attract its growing middle class to spend its increasing wealth here – but no.
According to ETOA anyone in China wanting to visit the UK has to make an appointment at a visa processing centre which can be up to 500 miles away. That person then has to complete a form in English, be both photographed and fingerprinted, before being interviewed and then charged £70 - without the guarantee of a visa at the end! How would we Brits feel about being photographed and finger printed before heading off on holiday?
Not a great example of customer relations! It is claimed this attitude is deterring up to 500,000 visitors a year with the resultant loss of their spending power to the detriment of the UK economy.
Despite all the hype which will soon no doubt reach fever pitch, ETOA is predicting the 2012 Olympics in London have the potential to decimate the UK’s inbound tourism industry. It seems unless you want to come to specifically watch the Olympics then you will give the UK a very, very wide berth.
Tour operators in the US are finding it impossible to secure rooms at viable rates in London next summer. As London tends to be the gateway for most Americans to the UK and Europe this is a big, big problem. The result is many US based operators are dropping London/UK as a tourism destination for 2012.
The prediction is demand for 2012 will slump to 20-50 per cent of 2011 levels and may mean London will cease to be the default gateway to Europe for long haul overseas visitors.
Also remember the last two time the Olympics were held in Europe they were in Barcelona – 12,00 hotel rooms, and Athens – 15,000 hotel rooms, both were able to adequately cope with the demand. London currently has 125,000 hotel rooms with a whole lot more scheduled to be on stream by summer 2012! So while room rates now may be sky high just wait for the panic to set in when greedy hoteliers realise they may be facing masses of empty rooms. Then they may just think that 50 per cent of something is always better than 100 per cent of nothing!
The third problem highlighted is that of taxation. In particular this relates to the Tour Operator’s Margin Scheme or TOMS. This is quite a complex system but according to the ETOA it is putting UK based operators at a financial disadvantage.
So not the news many in the tourism industry wanted to hear – especially those not based in London who may really feel the pinch next year as the UK is shunned by up to 80 per cent of potential overseas visitors.
